Nemesis

Hi Paula, Oh you poor thing - i really do sympathise. I'm unfortunately very experienced on the laxative front although thankfully those days are behind us now - no pun intended! If he's never had a laxative before I suggest you start with Lactulose. You can buy this at a chemist and it's very gentle though likely to make him fart a lot The downside is that it takes 2 or 3 days to have full effect. It's a very sweet, sticky liquid. I used to mix it in apple juice so if he'll drink that you might get away with it. Hope that helps, Helen

My son is fascinated by hypnotism and has been researching on the web how to hypnotise someone covertly. I'd be worried except that I assume you'd need sustained eye contact to pull it off

Hi Niki, My son was dxed last December - so perhaps too recent for your purposes but pm me if I can help. Helen.

I watched it and did find it very moving, particularly as my mum (who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at 61) has just moved into full time care. However, I was concerned that the people featured who had Alzheimer's had obviously not been able to give informed consent to the filming and I found parts of it very intrusive.

Hi Liz, I'm afraid I haven't any advice for you but just wanted to commiserate as I know how hard this is My DS (aged 15 and recently diagnosed AS) has always struggled with sharing - I still remember the lady who ran the playgroup commenting on his first day. I just thought - what do you expect, he's only 3 - but now I realise she saw something we hadn't. His first word was 'mine' and in reception class at school he used to hide things around the classroom so no one else could have them. At 15 he still finds this really difficult - and can go into full meltdown mode at the suggestion he let someone use something of his, though sometimes he pleasantly surprises me. We have tried everything we can think of with no success. I can only suggest that as your youngest gets older you work hard to ensure that he doesn't buy into fighting over everything. Otherwise you will spend fruitless years (as I have) referreeing between them - to no avail Helen

You shouldn't be on this thread You clearly have a life already

I'm coveting a nice shiny retro toaster by a famous company starting with D. Hubby chokes everytime I bring it up. Bet a few of you have got those too.

Fantastic idea

I have a 50 litre one too... It's fantastic. My lid broke when the bin was about three years old and I had no proof of purchase. The company sent me a new one no problem. Now I recommend them to everyone - an expensive investment but well worth it. A life? What's one of those

Hi Lindyloo, I've puzzled over this one and quite what it means. Four years age my NT DD was taken seriously ill and was hospitalized for three weeks. For the first week we had no idea what was wrong and it was really scary. However, my ASD DS (then aged 11 and undiagnosed) seemed completely unconcerned although his cousins of the same age were upset - and asked their mums' if she might die. It's interesting to read Baddad's take on this. I have found it difficult to understand this apparent indifference and TBH I'm not sure that he has strong feelings even for his dad and me. Although his AS is relatively 'mild' he just seems to exist in a little universe all of his own with him at the centre Nemesis.

adamant (Adam Ant )

Daylight

Stockings

Hi Daisy, My DD developed Kawasaki disease when she was younger - it's auto-immune but self limiting and she's fine now. However, it was awful while it lasted so I do have some idea how you feel. Hope this flare up doesn't last much longer. You are amazing to cope with everything you do and still go out to work. Nemesis.

Doh! I thought you were referring to your son's learning mentor being c**p rather than saying your son is doing science. All is clear now!

CP???? Coudn't find this one in the jargon buster. Are you being uncomplimentary?

Hi Canopus, I'm pretty sure my DS will do science at A level, although he's very good at languages too and I try to get him to keep an open mind about it. Hi Pepper, DS's school has two dedicated (non-teaching) learning mentors who job share. TBH I don't know how he would have managed at senior school without them. It's a rare day he doesn't seek them out at some point and they are his first port of call if he has to use his 'exit card' to leave class. It's also great for me as they are very accessible so, e.g. if I know that DS was stressed when he left home I can just call them and ask them to keep an eye on him. Nemesis

Hi Daisy, This describes my son perfectly. Do you mind me asking how old you were when you were diagnosed? You sound like a very courageous young lady if you don't mind me saying so It's really interesting to read about the sort of support that you have to make living at uni workable for you. TBH I hadn't even begun to think about what DS would need but I'm sure you're right that it would be better for him to be independent at uni if possible. The idea of familiarising yourself first is a good one. My son's SENCO suggested yesterday that he should go to his work experience placement maybe once a fortnight to get to know people etc before he actually does the placement. Canopus, I think it'll be something to do with computers For a long time he said he wanted to be a NASA scientist but that seems to have fallen by the wayside. He's hoping to do his work experience placement in computing with a major bank who have their headquarters near here. Nemesis

Hi Canopus, I've studied with the OU myself and I think they're fantastic but I also think my son would need more day to day input and supervision than you get with the OU. There is a decent university about 15 miles away so there are certainly options when the time comes. He has to do his work experience soon so it'll be interesting to see how he manages that. Nemesis

Those were the days When the TV finished early we used to play cards and board games. The power went off at a friends birthday party - in the dark with a house full of young kids. Can you imagine Does anyone remember not being able to get loo roll - we used to cut kitchen rolls in two but they blocked the loo Couldn't get bread either - had to queue for it when it came in. Nemesis.

Absolutely Thanks for sharing your experiences Daisy. I do wonder if my son will be able to cope living away at university and it's really inspiring to read how well you've done. Thanks, Nemesis.

Hi tmf, I really sympathise with how you are feeling. I've been feeling increasingly low since my son was DXd in December and I too thought it was just me. I'm not the most sociable of folk at the best of times but lately I just don't want to go anywhere or see anybody and feel so tired and lethargic all the time The others are right of course - you do need to ask for help. It just seems so hard to reach out sometimes doesn't it? Take care, Nemesis.

I meet up regularly with another mum whose AS son attends the same grammar school as my DS. He is very bright and 'high functioning' and consequently I often find people dismissive of his issues. To have just one other person to talk to who knows exactly where I am coming from and for whom explanations are unnecessary has been a fantastic support for me. Nemesis

Hi Justamom, Have you tried asking school to provide a laptop for your son? I did and was amazed that they agreed straight away. He's found it REALLY helpful. Niothing ventured nothing gained, as they say! Nemesis

Hi, I have a meeting with my 15 year old AS son's Explorer Scout leaders and their Special Needs adviser to discuss what they can do to assist DS at scouts following his recent diagnosis of AS. DS has gone through the scouting movement since Beavers with surprisingly little trouble but Explorers has been much more problematic. The main issue seems to be that they are given so much more independence and the supervision is so much more laid back that it sometimes becomes a bit 'Lord of the Flies' IYKWIM. Of course, in this situation DS is very vulnerable and although I'm not sure whether there has been any outright bullying many of the boys have made their dislike of DS very clear and he is often excluded from things. This has been particularly problematic when they are involved in Duke of Edinburgh activities as this is very much based around a teamwork model. When they went on camp this ended with DS hitting another boy in the face with a pan handle - this is SO out of character I can only guess at what he'd had to put up with before lashing out. I have asked them to look into Special Needs provisions within the DoE programme and also to keep a closer eye on what's happening in meetings. But after this I'm short of ideas as to what they can do to help. I'd really appreciate any ideas that anyone has as to what I could be asking them to do to improve things. Thanks, Nemesis